In which Shakespeare comedy does the character Bottom have his head transformed into that of a donkey?

Bottom has his head transformed into a donkey’s in William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The comic transformation occurs while Bottom and his fellow craftsmen rehearse a play in the forest near the fairy queen Titania’s bower.

The prank is carried out by Puck, the mischievous fairy serving Oberon. Puck mistakes Bottom’s name for a reference to a jackass and changes his head. Bottom does not realize what has happened, but his terrified companions flee. Titania, already enchanted by a love potion, wakes and falls in love with the transformed weaver.

Bottom’s donkey head is one of Shakespeare’s most recognizable comic images. The episode also links the play’s three story worlds: the Athenian lovers, the quarrelling fairies, and the amateur actors preparing Pyramus and Thisbe. Bottom’s confidence and theatrical enthusiasm make him funny even before the magic begins.

Oberon eventually releases Titania from the spell, and Puck restores Bottom’s human head. Bottom later remembers the experience as “a most rare vision” and plans to call it Bottom’s Dream.